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Illinois House approves privatizing state lotteryNews Story
Illinois would raise $10 billion for building roads and schools by privatizing its state-run lottery for half a century under a plan the House approved Wednesday night. After years of resisting, Speaker Michael Madigan and his House Democrats approved turning the lottery over to a private vendor because Gov. Rod Blagojevich and the Legislature have never agreed on another way to pay for a statewide construction program. The House also voted to restore some of the painful budget cuts Gov. R
Sep 12, 2008, 3:15 am - Lottery News

Law creating N.C. Lottery to be reviewed by state's Supreme CourtNews Story
North Carolina's highest court will decide whether the Legislature approved properly a bill that created the state's education lottery. State Supreme Court justices scheduled oral arguments Monday in a lawsuit originally filed by taxpayers who sued state and elected officials. At issue is whether 35 percent of the price of each lottery ticket constitutes a tax. If so, the state legislature violated the North Carolina Constitution when it approved the lottery in 2005 because it did not foll
Sep 8, 2008, 2:59 pm - Lottery News

Petition submitted for starting Arkansas lotteryNews Story
Arkansas Lt. Gov. Bill Halter submitted 138,615 signatures Thursday in support of a constitutional amendment creating a state-run lottery, moving his proposal to help fund college scholarships closer toward appearing on the November ballot. Supporters needed 77,468 signatures by July 7 to get the measure on the November ballot. Tim Humphries, an attorney for the secretary of state's office, said officials will count and certify the valid signatures on July 7 and Halter will have 30 days to su
Jun 27, 2008, 8:45 am - Lottery News

California Lottery revenues dipNews Story
California Lottery officials on Tuesday lowered revenue estimates for the year by $275 million, just as Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger suggested the state could double sales in a decade. Citing a declining economy and poor brand image for the games, officials said the lottery's declining performance would reduce contributions to public education by $94 million, about 8 percent less than expected in the fiscal year that ends June 30. It makes it more difficult for the lottery to meet the goals
May 20, 2008, 10:30 pm - Lottery News

California Gov. calls for expanding, privatizing lotteryNews Story
Massively expanded lottery revenues are key to Schwarzenegger's budget plan Called the lottery an underperforming asset Anxious to avoid deep cuts in education spending, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Wednesday proposed dramatically expanding the state lottery and slashing entitlement programs, to help close a budget gap now pegged at $17.2 billion. Schwarzenegger hopes to win voter support in November for a deal to obtain $15 billion from Wall Street firms, to be repaid from what the g
May 16, 2008, 8:41 am - Lottery News

Councilor seeks city-only lottery gameNews Story
In the city of Worcester, Massachusetts, a council member is suggesting that the city launch its own lottery game to raise money for cash-strapped public schools. District 1 Councilor Joffrey Smith is asking the city manager to file special legislation that would authorize the State Lottery Commission to create scratch ticket game that would be sold only in Worcester. Smith says proceeds from the game would do directly to public schools in the state's second-largest city. Smith says he has
May 9, 2008, 11:59 am - Lottery News

Tenn. proposal for real lottery drawings withdrawnNews Story
Somber news for Tennessee Lottery players A proposal to require the Tennessee Lottery to abandon computerized drawings has been withdrawn for the year. The chairman of the House State and Local Government committee announced Tuesday that the bill sponsored by House Minority Leader Jason Mumpower, a Bristol Republican, was taken off notice. Mumpower had said he introduced the manual drawings measure in response to a loss in consumer confidence following a computer programming error last
Apr 30, 2008, 7:38 am - Lottery News

Arkansas watches as Tenn rethinks lottery scholarshipsNews Story
If Lt. Gov. Bill Halter's push for a state lottery is successful, Arkansas legislators may want to consider Tennessee's dilemma before writing rules for spending proceeds that would be earmarked exclusively for college scholarships. Arkansas' eastern neighbor is struggling with what to do with an unintended $460 million surplus from that state's version of a scholarship lottery. Part of the problem is that many scholarship recipients have not been able to maintain grades good enough to keep t
Apr 14, 2008, 10:21 am - Lottery News

N.J. mom-and-pop lottery retailers worried about competitionNews Story
Buying a lottery ticket when picking up a quart of milk might be par for the course. But if a state marketing plan is enacted, customers soon might buy tickets while purchasing furniture and home goods, too. To raise more revenue, state Senate President Richard J. Codey, D-Essex, is proposing that the state encourage big stores to sell New Jersey Lottery tickets, including Target, Home Depot and Dunkin' Donuts. Normally the domain of smaller convenience stores and food markets, lottery sales
Apr 14, 2008, 9:48 am - Lottery News

As Fla. lottery sales slow, schools stand to loseNews Story
Penny-pinching Floridians aren't playing the lottery as much as expected, and that's bad news for state legislators trying to minimize school budget cuts next year. Lackluster ticket sales have prompted state economists to reduce their projection for this year's sales by $47 million. They also scaled back projections for the next two years by $159 million. The news just gets better and better, huh? said a wry Rep. Ray Sansom, R-Destin, the House budget chairman. The lower predictions
Apr 14, 2008, 8:46 am - Lottery News